ABU DHABI // Camel experts from the UAE have visited Morocco to help develop camel racing for Bedouins in the Sahara Desert.
Dignitaries from Abu Dhabi on Monday inaugurated the first camel racetrack in Tan-Tan, in the south-western Sahara region of Morocco for the annual week-long festival.
The six-kilometre, U-shaped track also has lanes for cars to follow the camels, as well as pens for camel beauty competitions (camel mazeynah).
Sheikh Sultan bin Hamdan, adviser to the President, Sheikh Khalifa, and president of the UAE Camel Federation Committee, travelled to Tan-Tan especially for the event.
Moroccan Bedouins from the region attended the event with about 200 camels.
There were 10 races, based on the camels’ age and gender, but only the first four races offered cash awards of 25,000 Moroccan dirhams (Dh9,500) for the winners.
“Camels are still very important here,” said Mohammed Rabati, a Moroccan ministry of interior representative for the region. “In fact, there is a saying, ‘He who has no camels has nothing’, which still rings true today.”
Emiratis also took part in the Tan-Tan Moussem Festival for the third year in a row.
Abu Dhabi’s Cultural Programs and Heritage Festivals Committee oversaw the Emirati delegation’s participation at the festival.
That was in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, the General Women’s Union, the Camel Racing Federation and the Advanced Scientific Group.
Khalifa Al Nuaimi, chief executive of the Advanced Scientific Group, said it was dedicated to developing veterinary centres and the culture of camel racing in the Sahara region.
The first festival in Tan-Tan was held in 1963.
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